Dan Richards, a state Fish and Game commissioner from Upland, is being criticized by some animal-rights groups for legally hunting and shooting a mountain lion in Idaho.

Richards, a steady backer of hunting and fishing rights in California and now president of the Fish and Game Commission, shot a mature cougar last month while participating in a fair-chase hunt at Flying B Ranch. He had a guide and houndsmen with dogs to ensure he was shooting a mature male, fulfilling what he described as a five-year quest for a trophy-sized mountain lion.

Richards said last month the hunt was the “most physically exhausting hunt of my lifetime. Eight hours of cold weather hiking in very difficult terrain.” He said he shot the cougar at 50 feet with a Winchester Centennial, lever-action, 45-caliber rifle with open sights.

Richards, who owns a cabin in Idaho, where he retreats for hunting and fly-fishing, said the cougar mount will be kept there along with other trophies such as a wild turkey he shot in San Diego County a few years ago.

It is legal for a licensed hunter to shoot a mountain lion in Idaho, unlike in California, where voters passed Proposition 117 in 1990 that gave mountain lions special protection in the state. Lions are killed often in California, but usually by state and federal hunters or ranchers who kill them because they are preying on their livestock or are a threat to it.

Recently, a bow hunter shot a lion in Mount Laguna. He said it was in self-defense, but he was cited by game wardens, who said they didn’t believe his story.

Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, is the most prominent among those criticizing Richards. The Humane Society has donated thousands of dollars to California for its canine unit used in catching poachers and in reward money, most recently for the celebrated unsolved case of a mountain lion that was shot, mutilated and left to waste in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

“It’s not illegal (in Idaho), but he’s thumbed his nose at the people of California,” Pacelle told the San Jose Mercury News. “He’s supposed to be representing the interests of all California citizens. It seems like such a tone-deaf action. What part of ‘no’ doesn’t he understand.”

Photos of Richards posing with his mountain lion are being circulated on the Internet (see

Richards said Monday he is not commenting on the uproar but acknowledged that he is under attack.

One website, Care2 make a difference

(care2.com), has started a petition drive asking that Gov. Jerry Brown oust Richards. Only the state legislature, through a majority vote, can remove Richards from his post.

That’s not stopping others from calling for Richards’ ouster.

California Assemblyman Jared Huffman, a Democrat from San Rafael and chairman of the Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee, told the Mercury News he may introduce a motion in the Assembly to remove Richards from the commission.

“He’s thumbing his nose at California,” Huffman said. “He’s mounting it. Frankly, I think he should face the music and step down. He’s done something that’s a disgrace to his position and to responsible hunters in California.”